SDSU Professors Report Public Sector Corruption and Economic Strength as Key Contributors to Software Piracy
SAN DIEGO (March 23, 2011) - The College of Business Administration at San Diego State University (SDSU) announced today that SDSU professors Dr. Bruce A. Reinig and Robert K. Plice have published research that establishes the precursors of software piracy in developed and emerging economies.
Using advanced statistical techniques, the professors demonstrated that national software piracy rates can largely be explained by three key factors: per capita gross national income; government or public sector corruption; and the strength of the information technology (IT) industry relative to the rest of the economy.
According to the Business Software Alliance (BSA), in certain developing economies, such as China, Indonesia, and Venezuela, 80 percent or more of the software in use is illegally pirated. The BSA has asserted that a 10 percent reduction in the software piracy rate would lead to 600,000 new jobs and $24 billion in additional tax revenues worldwide.
The findings of Reinig and Plice, both SDSU management information systems professors, suggest different strategies for combating software piracy depending on whether a country has a strong or weak IT industry. In countries with a relatively strong IT sectors, the model suggests additional strengthening of the IT sector will substantially reduce software piracy. In countries with weak IT sectors, however, the model suggests that government corruption is a key contributor to high piracy rates. The professors state “the software industry would do well to encourage policies that focus on countering general levels of corruption in countries with weak IT sectors.” The authors suggest that increases in per capita GNI will reduce software piracy in all economies because “… wealthier people have less economic incentive to pirate software compared to poorer people…” The research was published in the January 2011 issue of the International Journal of Social & Organizational Dynamics in Information Technology.
SDSU College of Business Administration 5500 Campanile Drive San Diego, CA 92182-8230
Student Services East #3220 Tel: (619) 594-5259 Fax: (619) 594-1573 Email: business@sdsu.edu